LAW & ORDER: Meth charge dropped against Honor woman

She was taken into custody last July after IDPS officers responded to a early morning complaint near elementary school

Karen Botakaren.bota@sentinel-standard.com

The case against a woman arrested last summer for possession of meth has been dismissed after labs reports failed to confirm the presence of a controlled substance.

Karalee Moore, 23, of Honor, was taken into custody after officers with the Ionia Department of Public Safety responded to a noise complaint by neighbors near Emerson Elementary School around 3 a.m. July 21, 2013. Officers found Moore and three other people in a vehicle parked in the school parking lot beside a basketball court.

Officers searched the car and found three bags containing various items covered in a white, powdery substance, including syringes and spoons with white residue, according to the police report. Moore was placed under arrest for possession of meth, as well as ticketed for improper registration and improper plates, because she told officers she was driving the vehicle. Another passenger later admitted to being the driver.

Officers completed a field test on one of the spoons and a sample of the powdery substance from inside one of the bags. Both tests were positive for meth, the police report said.

However, subsequent tests performed on the items at the Michigan State Police crime lab couldn’t confirm the presence of meth, according to Ionia County Prosecutor Ron Schafer. Charges against Moore were dismissed April 15.

"We couldn't find the presence of a controlled substance, so we had to dismiss," Schafer said.

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